TAIEX rises on China rate cut
The TAIEX closed higher yesterday after China announced over the weekend that it would cut lenders’ reserve requirement ratios, with raw material stocks posting the biggest gains.
The People’s Bank of China announced on Saturday it would lower bank reserve requirements by 50 basis points, sparking expectations of higher domestic demand.
Plastics, chemicals and steel led the rise in the TAIEX, which closed 60.46 points, or 0.77 percent, higher at 7,954.82 on turnover of NT$104.15 billion (US$3.53 billion).
Trading ranged between a low of 7,913.65 and a high of 7,985.50.
Key sectors may open to China
The government is studying a proposal to allow more Chinese investment in industries, including public works, as President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) seeks to deepen economic ties.
Chinese investors would be able to take stakes in business areas such as infrastructure projects and light-emitting diode companies under the plan, said Emile Chang (張銘斌), deputy executive secretary of the Investment Commission.
“This is in line with President Ma’s cross-strait policies to open up access to China in a gradual way,” Chang said by telephone yesterday.
The proposal was submitted to the Cabinet three days ago, he said.
Taiwan to load Iranian oil
State oil company CPC Corp, Taiwan, (CPC, 台灣中油) will load a supertanker of crude from Iran next week as the Persian Gulf nation continues to supply customers in Asia while cutting some shipments to Europe.
CPC chartered the Ruby IV to carry 260,000 tonnes from Iran’s Kharg Island on March 3 for delivery to an undisclosed Taiwanese port, according to data from three shipbrokers, including a unit of Clarkson PLC. The Panama-flagged very large crude carrier is in the Malacca Strait, according to transmissions.
Leaders attend economic forum
A forum to discuss Asia’s economic transformation and growth in a gloomy global economy will open tomorrow in Taipei, the organizers said yesterday.
Thirty-one political leaders and economics experts from nine countries have been invited to share their views at the two-day event, the Chinese-language CommonWealth Magazine said. President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is scheduled to make the opening remarks.
Poll shows worker weaknesses
Thirty-seven percent of office workers polled in a recent survey think their competitive edge is insufficient and that they need to strengthen their weak points, according to a survey conducted by online job bank Yes123.
Those who answered the poll said they consider language ability their weakest point, with 43.5 percent saying they lack language ability. This was followed by marketing ability (15.7 percent), and professional ability related to their jobs (12.3 percent). Ten percent also said they have to strengthen their ability to socialize with other people (10 percent), or sharpen their computer skills (7.9 percent).
Sixty percent of enterprises are willing to raise salaries for employees who obtain related licenses, but only 40 percent of the poll respondents said they are willing to polish their skills, according to the survey.
NT dollar gains on greenback
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar yesterday, adding NT$0.029 to close at NT$29.554.
Turnover totaled US$516 million during the trading session.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
FUTURE PLANS: Although the electric vehicle market is getting more competitive, Hon Hai would stick to its goal of seizing a 5 percent share globally, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major iPhone assembler and supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s chips, yesterday said it has introduced a rotating chief executive structure as part of the company’s efforts to cultivate future leaders and to enhance corporate governance. The 50-year-old contract electronics maker reported sizable revenue of NT$6.16 trillion (US$189.67 billion) last year. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has been under the control of one man almost since its inception. A rotating CEO system is a rarity among Taiwanese businesses. Hon Hai has given leaders of the company’s six